SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs City School District Bike Rodeo returns on May 4, offering district families the opportunity to practice safe bike riding, play games, and more.

The event first became a district-wide offering last year, originally beginning at Lake Avenue Elementary School. This year’s event will be held at East Side Recreation Park from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and will offer minor bike maintenance, a helmet-fitting station, games, an obstacle course, raffles, and more. 

Lake Ave physical education teacher Jake Zanetti said the event initially grew as an extension of the school’s annual ‘Bike-to-School’ day. He said between 200 and 250 Lake Ave students bike to school on the annual date. SSCSD’s Bike-to-School Day will take place May 19.

“We have a huge walking and biking community at Lake Ave,” said Zanetti. “So we kind of came up with this Bike Rodeo thing that we do two weeks before the Bike to School day, to get kids and their families prepped for safe bike riding. Then it kind of just kept growing and growing.”

Now, the event is sponsored by local companies such as BikeaToga, Saratoga Shredders, Trek Bicycles, Grey Ghost Bicycles, and more. The Bike Rodeo also receives support from the Saratoga Springs City Police and Fire Departments, and Boy Scouts Troop 4016.

Zanetti said around 80 to 85 Lake Ave students attend the Bike Rodeo yearly, and that roughly 150 students from the district’s other five elementary schools attended last year. He also emphasized that the event is not solely for bike enthusiasts.

“We try to encourage kids who don’t even have a bike, ‘Hey, come and we’ll try to get you a bike,’” Zanetti said. “If you don’t have a helmet, we’ll try to give you a helmet. Give kids opportunities just to learn what it takes to get on a bike, how to do it safely, where they can participate outside of school, outside of bike rodeos.”

The Saratoga Springs City Police will be in attendance, allowing kids to register bikes in their bike registry, making for an easier recovery if a bike is lost or stolen. 

“The kids love that, because they let the kids sit in the cop cars and flick the lights and do the sirens,” said Zanetti.

Boy Scouts Troop 4016 will be running a hand-signaling station, teaching kids proper hand signals for riding a bike on streets. From there, kids will move on to the helmet-fitting station, where Zanetti said they can either receive or donate a helmet.

Local mechanics will also be on site, offering examinations of air pressure, brakes, and chains for any kids having problems with their bikes.

“If you have bigger issues than that, they’ll recommend you to one of the local bike shops that can fix you up better,” said Zanetti.

After advancing through the stations, kids proceed to the Bike Rodeo course, located on the track at East Side Rec. Zanetti said the rodeo course contains “lots of different practices,” including starting, stopping, turning, and other basic bike traffic safety.

“Then the event kind of runs itself there,” Zanetti said. “Kids are free to loop around the obstacle course.”

All kids participating will have a chance to enter a raffle for a $350 gift card to Trek Bicycles. The Bike Rodeo also includes other fun activities, with Zanetti saying the Boy Scouts will bring an archery set, and that the National Guard has brought a rock-climbing wall in past years.

As a Saratoga native, Zanetti said “it’s really special” to see the Bike Rodeo grow in the community each year.

“Growing up, we went to East Side Rec all the time,” said Zanetti. “Saratoga being a very bike-friendly city, it’s cool. It’s fun to be a part of. It’s all for the kids, so it’s great. …It’s a really cool, big-time community thing that we want to keep going and moving in the right direction.”

The 2023 SSCSD Bike Rodeo will be held May 4 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at East Side Recreation Park.

SYRACUSE — The Ballston Spa High School Science Olympiad team recently competed in the New York State Science Olympiad Tournament. Students participated in 23 events against their peers representing 60 High Schools from throughout New York State. Two students from Ballston Spa won a gold medal in their event, and the team collectively finished in 41st place. 

Maddie Burns and Lee McKinley earned a gold medal in the “Write-It Do-It” event. The team is coached by High School science instructors Theresa Rousseau and Jim Poirier.

The team had placed third at the Capital Region Science Olympiad Tournament earlier this spring after competing against eighteen high school teams from throughout the Capital Region.  Ballston Spa students won medals in 19 out of 23 events including first place in five of the events. 

The first-place medal winners and their respective events include Maddie Burns and Lee McKinley in “Write It Do It” and “Trajectory,” Maddie Burns and Max Amodeo in “Chemistry Lab,”  Maddie Wilson and Jax Skylstad in “Rocks and Minerals,” and Max Amodeo and Riley Box in “Flight.”

The Science Olympiad tournament is an academic, interscholastic competition that consists of a series of individual and team events which the students prepare for throughout the year. The events are balanced between the various science disciplines of biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, computers and technology. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Central Catholic School held a college signing ceremony on Monday, honoring a pair of students who will be competing at the next level.

Saratoga Catholic seniors Christopher Comstock (University of Alabama at Birmingham, rifle team) and Jacqueline Fornabia (SUNY Potsdam, volleyball) both signed letters of intent to their respective schools.

Comstock was introduced to shooting at a young age, and has competed with the Galway Junior Rifle Club since 2017, and the Galway Senior Rifle Club since 2018. He was invited to the National Junior Olympics Rifle Championships for air rifle in 2022, and for both air rifle and smallbore in 2023.

He said one of the highlights of the sport has been the sense of community surrounding it.

“Really appreciative of everyone who introduced me to the sport, because it’s not something you think of immediately,” said Comstock. “It’s a small sport, it’s a small community. But the nice thing about that is that everyone’s really supportive.”

Comstock said he was drawn to UAB for its team atmosphere, saying it is “an environment that I could really get behind.” He plans to major in mechanical engineering.

“It’s more of a family down there,” Comstock said. He noted that head coach Lori Goodwin, who has led the Blazers’ rifle team since 1995, will be traveling to Colorado to watch him compete later this year.

“I don’t think any other coach would be there doing that,” said Comstock. “She really has that drive to see her athletes succeed.”

Comstock also credited Kyle Donnan, his coach at Galway Fish and Game, with helping to keep him driven toward his goals. While Saratoga Catholic does not have a rifle team of its own, Comstock said the school has been very supportive of his athletic escapades.

“The support structure that you get from family, from your coaches, I think that really drives people,” said Comstock.

Fornabia was named to the Wasaren League First Team in the fall, and will continue her volleyball career at SUNY Potsdam. She first began playing volleyball after arriving at Saratoga Catholic, and credited the school with helping her advance to the next level. 

“I reached out to a lot of the SUNY schools, but Potsdam was the one that had my major and the one that I liked,” said Fornabia of her college decision. “I like that it’s far away from home, but not too far.”

Fornabia will major in psychology at Potsdam. She also credited her teammates, saying, “They all helped me throughout the way.”

“My teammates, they’ve always been supporting me, along with my coaches,” Fornabia said. “My coaches are still giving me recommendations for camps in the summer and stuff like that.”

Fornabia said her time at Saratoga Catholic was “really special.”

“Just because if I didn’t go here, I probably wouldn’t be playing,” said Fornabia. “I just think that coming here and playing was a big part of me being able to play in college.”

Fornabia said she is excited for the upcoming volleyball season, but also said she is excited for the academic side of college as well.

“I’m excited to obviously play, but I’m also excited to go into school and learn new things, and being able to go to a bigger school and meet new people,” Fornabia said.

MECHANICVILLE — On June 3, the 4-H Scholarship Golf Classic returns for a 22nd year, helping raise money for the Saratoga County 4-H Leaders Association to provide college scholarships and other opportunities to local students.

Money raised at the tournament goes to the Saratoga County 4-H Leaders Association, which has granted 59 scholarships of $1,000 each to students within the county since the tournament began. The tournament is currently seeking sponsors and participants for this year’s event.

Greg Stevens, a program leader at the 4-H Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County, said the tournament also helps raise money for things such as leadership trips and volunteer training.

The 22nd annual tournament will be held at the Fairways of Halfmoon in Mechanicville. Stevens said the tournament receives a strong community response, noting its growth since the inaugural year.

“We went from four teams in the beginning and 16 players, in year one, to really growing it into a fundraiser and a golf tournament that rivals a lot of the other big tournaments in the area,” said Stevens.

The tournament utilizes a shotgun start and a scramble format. Last year saw a record attendance of 112 competitors, Stevens said. It was the third consecutive year the tournament has seen over 100 people participate.

“There’s a lot of community support,” said Stevens. “Saratoga County 4-H is obviously all across Saratoga County. It’s not just one community, or a youth from one community, that benefit from this. It’s kids all across Saratoga County.”

The tournament raises roughly $10,000 each year, Stevens said. He said the Fairways of Halfmoon have “been a great partner” for the tournament.

Stevens also added that it is meaningful to see the strong response from participants and sponsors in the tournament each year.

“It makes me so proud and humbled that they feel we are a worthy cause to come out and support,” Stevens said. “We’re extremely happy, and we’re extremely grateful. Personally, as a 4-H leader, I couldn’t be happier to have such a great fundraiser that is established year after year, still continues to grow today, and provides opportunities for my kids.”

For more information or to register for the tournament, visit ccesaratoga.org. Registration is due by May 26.

BALLSTON SPA — Odyssey of the Mind teams from throughout the region competed in the Region 6 Odyssey of the Mind Tournament on March 11. This year’s competition was held at Glens Falls High School.

Ballston Spa Middle School students competed and won in the ‘Pirates and the Treasure’ event, while Milton Terrace Elementary School students captured wins in ‘Because iCan,’ ‘The Walls of Troy,’ and ‘The Most Dramatic Problem Ever!’.

Milton Terrace students also competed in ‘Pirates and the Treasure,’ and ‘Dinos on Parade.’

Malta Avenue Elementary School students earned wins in ‘The Walls of Troy,’ and ‘Where’s the Structure?’ Malta Ave students also competed in ‘Pirates and the Treasure.’

The winning teams from all three district schools will head to the New York State finals on April 15, held at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — On Feb. 28, Joseph R. Lombardo, a Saratoga Central Catholic High School student, was offered and accepted a seat at the US Air Force Academy (USAFA) Summer Seminar held annually for select High School Juniors at the USAFA Campus in Colorado. 

Thousands apply each year from across the nation and even globally. After an intensely competitive application process, approximately 500-600 students will experience a week of living and working like current cadets in order to give them a taste of the military service academy experience. 

Joseph is excited and grateful to count himself among this elite group as his future aspirations point toward a service career in the US Air Force or US Space Force.